The United States is sending a team of agricultural experts to West
Africa to find ways to improve the region's cotton industry. The team
will assess cotton production and suggest technological and logistical
innovations. The program is part of a larger effort to improve
agricultural technology as a whole in Africa and help the region escape
its cycle of hunger and low productivity. Toward this end, the United
States is also sponsoring an agricultural technology conference in Mali
and an African center for biotechnology.